Nigerians unite at fuel demonstration

Nigerians unite at fuel demonstration

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria — A human wave of more than 20,000 surrounded the Muslim faithful as they prayed toward Mecca Friday, as anti-government demonstrations over spiraling fuel prices and corruption showed unity among protesters despite growing sectarian tensions in Africa’s most populous nation.

While violence sparked by religious and ethnic divisions left about 1,500 people dead last year alone in Nigeria, some hope the ongoing protests gripping the oil-rich nation will bring together a country that already suffered through a bloody civil war.
“It shows that Nigeria is now coming together as one family,” said Abdullahi Idowu, 27, as he prepared to wash himself before Friday prayers.

Labor unions, meanwhile, announced Friday they would halt their five-day strike for the weekend, allowing families stuck largely inside their homes to go to markets and rest. Union leaders also plan to meet President Goodluck Jonathan and government officials on Saturday for new negotiations, just ahead of a promised labor shutdown of Nigeria’s oil industry.

Nigeria, which produces about 2.4 million barrels of crude a day, is the fifth-largest oil exporter to the U.S. While the country has a several-week stock of oil ready for export, the threatened shutdown Sunday could shake oil futures as traders remained concerns about worldwide supply.

 
The strike began Monday, paralyzing the nation of more than 160 million people. The root cause remains gasoline prices: President Goodluck Jonathan’s government abandoned subsidies that kept gasoline prices low Jan. 1, causing prices to spike from $1.70 per gallon (45 cents per liter) to at least $3.50 per gallon (94 cents per liter). The costs of food and transportation also largely doubled in a nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/13/2587857/christians-muslims-unite-at-fuel.html

General view of the protesters on day 5 of the nationwide strike following the removal of a fuel subsidy by the government in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. Unions in Nigeria announced Friday a weekend pause in a paralyzing national strike amid new negotiations with the government over spiraling gasoline costs. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim women pray as the protest on day five of a nationwide strike following the removal of a fuel subsidy by the government in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012 (AP Photo)